Heading Home
by Arek the Absolute
Summary: Two years after the D-Reaper incident Takato, Kenta and Kazu spend the day together at the Tokyo Dome. Baseball, rollercoasters and summer vacation. Everything sounds great, so what's there to be sad about?


(The extensive Author's Notes on this one-shot can be found in my profile forum.)

**Heading Home**

Never let your guard down. You never know when your best friend will grab you in a headlock and give you a noogie.

"Heya, chumly! What kept ya?"

"Ow! Leggo, Kazu!" I shouted in surprise.

"I'm just messin' with ya," Kazu said playfully as he let go.

I rubbed my head and fixed my hair. "Yeah, well just remember I'm the one with the tickets," I said, patting my pants pocket. "What are you wearing?"

"You like it?" Kazu asked as he flexed. He was decked out in full Hanshin Tigers gear from his cap to his socks to the shirt which bore their logo big and bright and right in the middle. "It's awesome, huh?"

"We're just glad you made it here on time," said Kenta, whose memorabilia was limited to just a Yomiuri Giants cap. Other than that he was dressed in blue jeans and an orange T-shirt, and he looked a little hot even in that. There wasn't a cloud in the sky.

"Sorry guys," I said with a little laugh. "I missed the train so I had to catch the next one."

"Whatever you say, man," said Kazu. "So are we going or not? I can't wait to see the Tigers totally destroy the Giants."

"Never happen," Kenta said as the three of us started walking toward the Tokyo Dome.

"I'll bet you _anything_ the Tigers win today," said Kazu.

"Alright," said Kenta. "How about we bet today's snacks? The loser has to pay for everything."

"You're on," Kazu said with a big grin.

"Awesome. I'm gonna eat until I get sick!" Kenta said happily.

"Well then I hope your parents gave you some extra allowance this week," said Kazu. "Besides, Takato's with me on this, right?"

"I don't know," I shrugged. "They're both pretty good teams."

Kazu rolled his eyes. "Way to take a stand, chumly."

My cell phone rang, so I dug into my pocket to find it.

"I'm telling you, the Tigers are going all the way again this year," Kazu went on.

"Just try not to throw a fit when you lose this time," Kenta said with a grin.

I turned off my phone without answering it and put it back in my pocket.

"I don't throw fits!" Kazu insisted, his voice cracking.

"Who was that?" asked Kenta.

"Just my parents," I said.

"You didn't answer?"

I shook my head. "No way. Today's all about us, right?"

"You got that right!" said Kazu. "C'mon, let's pick up the pace already! You two walk like old ladies."

I smiled. "Alright. Race you there?"

"You're on!" said Kazu. "On three. One…"

"Two…" Kenta counted.

"Three!" I shouted.

Kazu, and only Kazu, took off running. Kenta and I looked at each other and grinned.

"Did he not remember that I'm the one with the tickets?" I asked.

Kenta shrugged. "Guess not."

We both cracked up laughing.

So we did everything we had to do. We waited in line to get in, we waited in line to get a few armfuls of deliciously greasy snacks, and we waited outside the bathroom for Kenta. It was even more crowded than I'd expected; there were people everywhere you looked, and we weren't even out in the stands yet. By the sound of things they were getting ready to start playing.

Kazu took a sip from his drink and turned his head toward the bathroom. "Hey hurry up in there already! We gotta find our seats."

"Hey, Kazu? Could you promise me something?" I asked.

"Anything," he said as he took another sip.

"Try not to do anything stupid. They're supposed to be pretty strict with the rules here, especially on visiting fans."

"Now when have I ever done something stupid?" he asked with an almost-straight face. I couldn't ignore the upturned corner of his mouth.

I sighed. "Alright, if you do something stupid, could you at least make it good?"

"Now that I can promise."

"Ready to go, guys?" Kenta asked as he showed up.

"Finally," Kazu said impatiently. "C'mon, let's get to our seats already."

"So which way is it?" I asked, looking at my ticket and then around for some sign of where we were.

"We should be pretty close," said Kenta. "Let's try out that way." He pointed to the closest entrance to the stadium.

"Sweet," said Kazu, already heading that way.

"Would you stop running around all over the place?" Kenta insisted as he chased after Kazu.

I followed them a little slower, mostly because I had plenty of snacks to balance. When I did make it out into the stadium though, I had to take a moment to stand still and stare. Now, I'd never been to a baseball game before. Well, never a professional one at least. For the first time I could hear the sound of fifty-five thousand people clearly, see everything from the bright green of the grass to the high ceiling of the dome all at once. All I could think of to say was, "Whoa."

"Hey Takato! Up here!" Kazu shouted from up the stairs behind me.

"Coming!"

I ran to catch up with them, squeezing past other people on the steps wherever I could. If I'd known how far we had to go, I probably wouldn't have been in such a hurry.

"How much farther is it?" Kazu whined after a few minutes.

"Can't be much farther," said Kenta.

"Look on the bright side. At least we're in out of the sun," I said.

Kenta wiped his forehead on his shirt sleeve. "Doesn't mean it's not hot."

"Well maybe you should've worn shorts like me and Takato," Kazu called back.

"Well it was cold this morning," said Kenta.

"Jeez, Takato. What, weren't there any seats left in space?"

"Hey, I think it's amazing I even managed to _get _these tickets!"

"But you can hardly even see the field from way back here!" Kazu protested.

"You want to pay for your own ticket?" I asked.

"You can relax now, guys," said Kenta. "We're here."

"Where?" asked Kazu. "I don't see any seats."

"Looks like we're in the middle of the row," Kenta said, checking his ticket again, just to be sure.

Kazu rolled his eyes. "Awesome."

"Hey, as long as we're all here together, right?" I asked.

"You're right about that, Takato," Kenta said as he started making his way down the row.

"We're gonna have fun, right?" I asked Kazu.

"Alright, alright. Whatever you say, dude."

"Good." I smiled and started following Kenta. Kazu was a few paces behind me, and after juggling our snacks and drinks some more we finally made it to our seats, which only meant figuring out how to stack everything around ourselves. After a few seconds, I think we all got pretty tired of lugging around our treats and got to thinking of the best way to get rid of them. For five minutes we didn't say a word as we pigged out.

The game started pretty soon after we sat down and right away Kazu forgot all about complaining. Before too long he was even cheering louder than anyone else in our section, which was pretty impressive with how many Hanshin fans there were. Me? I was just happy to sit and watch the game with my friends.

That's pretty much how the first two innings went: food, drinks, and Kazu shouting whenever one of the teeny, tiny little guys way down on the field made it to home. It was the third inning when Kazu fell silent and stared at home plate with a big smile and tears in his eyes. It took me a second to notice, but when I did I had to find out what was up.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"Careful," Kenta warned me. "That's the same look he used to get when he got his hands on a really, really good card."

"Can't you guys see who's up at bat?" Kazu asked, his voice cracking again.

I squinted. "Not really, no."

"It's Makoto Imaoka!" he announced. "He's, like…he's the _best_! I can't believe this! Do you think I could get his autograph?"

"Jeez, Kazu. I didn't know you were such a fan boy," I said.

He ignored me and stood up on his seat, cupping his hands around his mouth and hollering. "Wooooooo! Imaoka! You rock! Woohoooo!"

"Kazu, people are staring," Kenta said as he looked around nervously.

Kazu didn't listen, or maybe that just encouraged him. He whipped his shirt off and started waving it and his hat around over his head. It was only then that I learned he'd painted "Hanshin Tigers" on his chest in yellow and black paint. I got a good giggle out of it while Kenta sunk lower into his seat. Kazu kept on cheering while Imaoka doubled, right up until he was dusting himself off at second.

"That was awesome!" Kazu announced as he flopped back in his seat. "Man, I really owe you for this, chumly."

"Don't mention it," I said.

"You know, you can put your shirt back on any time," said Kenta.

"No way," Kazu said as he stuffed it down next to him. Then he suddenly lunged and grabbed Kenta in a headlock.

"Ack! Kazu!"

"And don't you go forgetting about our bet," Kazu said while he was sure he had Kenta's full attention. "Woo! Go Hanshin!"

Now, I could tell you that from then on Kazu was a perfect gentleman and we watched the rest of the game without incident. You probably wouldn't believe me though, and I can't blame you. I don't know if it was all the candy and cola he'd had for lunch or if it was the excitement in the air, but Kazu really got into the game. In the top of the sixth the umpire made a call that got every Hanshin fan in the stadium grumbling. Kazu did a little more than grumble.

"What were you thinking?" he screamed at the top of his lungs. "Get that ump a cane and a dog 'cause even a bat could make a better call than that! I know we're supposed to respect our elders and stuff, but even Buddha wouldn't take this!"

"Uh, Kazu?" I asked.

"Hey. Hey! Can you hear me all the way down there or are you deaf too?"

"Kazu," Kenta chimed in.

"Boo! You suck! Get off the field already!"

"Kazu!" we both yelled at once.

"What?" Kazu asked as he turned my way and immediately saw the hulking security guard standing over my shoulder. "Oh."

"Young man, you need to gather your things and come with me."

I looked at the guard. I looked at Kazu. I didn't like what I saw. When I looked at Kenta, I knew he saw it too. The gears were churning in Kazu's brain. "Kazu," I whispered under my breath. "Nothing stupid."

He shot me a glance. "I'll make it good," he mumbled back. I didn't want to watch, but I couldn't turn away.

Twenty minutes later the three of us were strolling out of the Tokyo Dome just as the crowd inside erupted in a cheer.

I shook my head. "Well I hope you're happy, Kazu."

Kazu was just then pulling his shirt back on over his head. "No. Man, can you imagine what we might be missing?"

"Well whose fault is that?" asked Kenta.

"Hey, I thought I could get away from him," Kazu said with a shrug.

"Okay, okay. It was pretty cool when you leapfrogged down three rows," I conceded.

Kazu grinned. "That's the spirit!"

"And I was so sure he had you when he grabbed you by the shorts," said Kenta.

I snickered. "I didn't even know they made Hanshin Tigers underwear."

"Well now you do," said Kazu.

"Yeah, us and half the county," Kenta pointed out. "I always knew you'd find a way to embarrass us on the national level."

"You really think they caught it on tape?" asked Kazu. "Man, that would be so sweet! Think I can get them to make me a copy?"

"I wouldn't worry about it," said Kenta.

"So what now?" I asked. "I mean, it looks like we're done with the game earlier than we thought."

"I know!" Kazu shouted and pointed behind me. "The roller coaster!"

"Oh no," Kenta moaned.

I smiled. "Sounds like fun."

"Oh come on," said Kenta. "How about the Ferris wheel instead?"

"We could do that next," I said.

"Maybe we could hit the arcade," Kenta pleaded.

"That sounds pretty fun too," I admitted.

"We've got all day though," said Kazu. "We'll start with the Thunder Dolphin and then we can work around to all the other stuff."

"I'm not sure I'm tall enough," Kenta said hesitantly.

"Don't be such a fraidy-cat," said Kazu, who had to pull Kenta along by the wrist. "I promise you'll love it!"

It was definitely getting hotter out, which made it perfect weather for a day out. I guess everyone else in the city thought so too, because there had to be a billion people waiting in line at the roller coaster. Still, we didn't really have anyplace we needed to be, so waiting in line for the ride seemed as good as anything. I figured I should at least check my messages while we waited and dug out my phone again.

"I'm not so sure about this, guys," Kenta went on.

"It's all in your mind, pal!" Kazu assured him. "You don't want to act like a chicken your _whole _life, do you?"

I put my ear to my phone. "You have two new messages."

"That's what you said last time, Kazu."

"We had a blast last time," said Kazu.

"No, _you_ had a blast. _I_ threw up," Kenta reminded him.

"First message: Hi Takato, it's Jeri. I just wanted to call and say I had a great time with you and everyone yesterday. It seems like we never have the time to just go out and have a good time doesn't it? Well…I had fun. Just promise not to be a stranger, okay? Right. Anyway, call me whenever you can."

"Cut it out, Kazu!"

"I'll let you go when you promise to go on the ride with us."

"Second message: Takato, this is your father. We just want to make sure you got downtown alright. Call us as soon as you get this and have a good time with your friends. Oh, and your mother wants to me to tell you to be sure to be home by sundown."

"Alright, I give! Uncle!"

Kazu let Kenta go. "Now was that so hard?"

I sighed and dialed home. It rang twice before my mom picked up. "Hi mom. We're all just down here having a good time."

"Well I hope so," she said. "Honey, you need to keep your phone turned on in case of emergencies."

"I know. Hey, is it okay if I have dinner at Kenta's house?"

"Yes, but just remember to be home by dark. We've got to get up early tomorrow."

"I know, mom. Don't worry, I'll be there." Kenta and Kazu started whispering to each other and giggling. I pretended not to notice, but that kind of thing usually makes me nervous.

"And don't forget to thank Kenta's mother for dinner, Takato."

"Okay."

"And don't fill up on junk food or you'll be up all night long."

"Alright mom, jeez. Whatever."

Kenta started snickering louder as Kazu pantomimed my mother on the other end.

"Hang on a second, sweetie. Dad wants to say something."

I rolled my eyes. Kenta was cracking up by then, so there was really only one thing to do. "Okay-love-you-bye." I hung up. "What is so funny?" I asked.

Kenta wiped away a tear. "Oh, you know. Just the usual."

"You are such a mama's boy," Kazu said with a giggle.

"Am not!" was my brilliant defense.

"So what was all that about?" asked Kazu. "You're all, like, 'Okay, mommy. I'll be right home.'"

I crossed my arms. "Well at least I don't sleep with a stuffed bunny every night."

Kazu's face burned red. "Dude!" he yelped, his voice cracking when he did. "Not cool." Kenta just laughed louder.

Imagine the three of us ripping on each other just like that, with the afternoon heat rising and not a vending machine or soda stand in sight and surrounded on all sides by people just as sweaty as we were. Now imagine that kind of stuff going on for almost an hour and you'll get a pretty good idea of what it was like waiting in line for the roller coaster. We made it though, and when it came up to our turn, we got the front car.

A roller coaster is one of those few things that can actually get Kazu to shut up. He didn't say a thing as we were locked in place, as the track began to move underneath us. The Thunder Dolphin is actually a pretty cool roller coaster, if you've never seen it. It's all steel, so the ride is really smooth, and the way it coils around everything makes it look like a big, metal snake. I think Kazu's favorite part was the first drop though.

"Here it comes…" Kazu said as he pushed himself back in his seat as hard as he could. We were coming up to the top of the first hill. I clenched my teeth and fists as we peaked over the top and saw the whole city clearly. Kenta, sitting behind the two of us, swallowed nervously. Then we dropped. The three of us screamed the whole, long way down, and then we were off and running.

What was my favorite part? Well, it's not really just one part. Sure, that first drop is really scary, but my favorite part is when the ride passes through a hole in a building, and then goes right through the center of the Ferris wheel. It's so awesome. Not a very long ride, but even with the long line I'm glad we did it. I'm not sure Kenta felt the same way.

"I don't feel so good," he said as we stepped back onto the platform. He held his stomach and looked a little green.

"We'd better find a bathroom or something," I said, already looking around for one.

"Don't worry, he'll be fine," Kazu said confidently, giving Kenta a slap on the back.

At the slap, Kenta suddenly turned to faced Kazu. The color drained from his face, and I think what happened next was in slow motion for all of us, or maybe that's just how I remember it after playing it back in my mind so many times. As you can probably guess, Kenta threw up.

"Dude!" Kazu shrieked.

So the three of us wound up back at the bathroom again with Kenta gargling and spitting and Kazu running his ruined Hanshin shirt under water and muttering every curse he knew. Sure I felt bad for them, but it didn't stop me from laughing about it. Since I did feel bad though, I said I'd pay for all the games at the arcade. That picked the mood right up.

After how things went with the roller coaster, we all figured it was better to skip the Ferris wheel and move right on to the arcade; or maybe that was just Kazu wanting to have as much fun on my dime as he could. Either way, I didn't mind. Of course when it comes to Kazu and video games, fun for him usually means completely dominating both of us.

Go ahead and guess how things went when we played DDR. I don't think Kenta and I could have won that one if we'd played against Kazu together. Kazu wanted to keep going after we'd both given up, so he asked for challengers. After a ten-year-old girl utterly destroyed him he seemed to lose interest. Go figure.

Skee ball and all three different racing games they had there were pretty much the same story as DDR. Things were a little more even when we were shooting hoops, and Kenta surprised me when he beat both of us at Beatmania. We also played plenty of solo games; Kazu was sure pleased with his pachinko winnings until he saw the pile of tokens I'd managed to get for myself. We spent hours and hours there; I wouldn't have noticed that it was time to catch the train back to West Shinjuku if Kenta hadn't said something.

The train ride back was probably the quietest part of the day—I think we were all pretty tired. It had been a pretty exciting afternoon, after all. Either that or we were all having a sugar crash. Whichever it was, it was quiet, and it was cool. I always liked that about the subway: even when it was hot out, it's always cool underground, so long as you stay out of the really crowded trains.

What is it about a train ride that makes it so easy to relax? Is it the motion? The low hum and the occasional stop announcement? Maybe it's just knowing that you can go anywhere you want in the city and always knowing when you'll get there. Yeah, I like that. It's the kind of thing you don't really think about when you can do it every day of your life, but then when things change you really pay attention for the first time.

When I heard our stop announced, I had to shake Kenta and Kazu, since they'd both fallen asleep in their seats. Kazu stretched and yawned while Kenta rubbed his tired eyes. "Here already?" Kenta asked. "I could've used a few more minutes."

"I know what you mean," Kazu said as he stood and popped his back. "But hey, that means it's almost time for dinner, right?"

"Just about," Kenta nodded as the three of us stepped out onto the platform. "My mom said she'd have it ready around six."

I checked the time on a nearby wall clock. "Better hurry then."

"After you, chumly," Kazu said sedately.

I wouldn't say that dinner at Kenta's house was a tradition for us. We only ever did it a handful of times. His mom wasn't too keen on us making a mess, but whenever we came over she always went all out. Kenta always says she's happiest when she gets to put together a big meal; I guess she just doesn't want anyone to ruin all her work, which I get. Besides, I'd come over for the food no matter how careful I had to be not to spill; Kenta's mom is an amazing cook. Kazu was usually just careful enough not to get thrown out into the street.

This time wasn't any different, really. She'd made a lot of seafood—tempura, sushi, sashimi, and a small mountain of rice. It all looked pretty traditional, but a lot of it had really cool flavor, like the shrimp tempura had this kind of sweet and spicy zing to it. I don't know; I thought it was good. Anyway, so we had that for dinner. Kenta's parents were nice of course, asking me all kinds of questions. You know how it is with your friends' folks.

By the time we finished it was starting to get dark out, which meant I needed to be getting home. The guys wanted to walk me back, and I wasn't about to argue. I guess the food agreed with Kazu, because by the time we got to the park he was perked up again.

"Today was so awesome," Kazu said as he hung from a tree branch. "We should do this all the time."

I nodded up at him. "As long as someone else pays next time."

"Well don't look at me," Kazu said as he dropped back to the ground and started walking again. "I'm tapped."

"We're probably not gonna get another shot at this anytime soon anyway," said Kenta. "Second term starts in a couple weeks."

"Gah! Why'd you have to go and mention school?" Kazu demanded. "It feels like break just started!"

"Have you even started on your summer assignments yet?" asked Kenta.

"I work better under pressure," Kazu said defiantly.

Kenta turned my way. "What about you, Takato?"

"Yeah, I started. I shouldn't have any problem."

Kazu shook his head. "Way to spoil the mood, Kenta. Things were going so great and you just had to ruin it, didn't you? Tests and uniforms and classes and teachers…"

"All I did was ask if you'd started!"

I wasn't paying much attention. I was looking off to the left, at a small stone building at the top of a flight of stairs, surrounded by trees on all sides. I stopped walking and just kind of looked at it.

"What's up, chumly?" Kazu asked when he realized I'd stopped.

"Just thinking," I said. They both followed my eyes up to the shrine. "Just thinking that it's been a while."

"A long while," Kenta agreed.

"Ah quit crying already ya big babies," said Kazu. "It's not like we'll never see 'em again, right?"

I smiled and nodded. "Right." I'm not sure I meant it though. "You guys will still come by here, right?"

"You got it," said Kenta.

Kazu gave me a thumbs-up. "No need to worry about it, chumly. We got this handled."

I sighed. "Looks like it's time to go. Look guys, I'm not good at this kind of stuff, but I just want to say—"

"We'll see you later," Kazu cut me off with a grin.

"We will," Kenta added. "Promise."

That was all I needed to hear from them. No matter what, we kept our promises to each other. "Okay. I'll see you guys later."

We each took off in different directions. The sun was gone, but there was still enough orange in the sky for me to say I was home before dark. I had to walk around the moving truck parked outside to get in through the front door. My parents were inside, packing up the last few things in the bakery. I didn't feel much like talking to them, so I just said I was going to sleep. The only thing left in my room now was my bed. It was a small room, but it never felt so big. I lay down and looked out the window at the moon. Tomorrow would be a big day, one that I never wanted to come.

_Adieu, adieu, kind friends, adieu, adieu, adieu,_

_I can no longer stay with you._

_I'll hang my harp on a weeping willow tree,_

_And may the world go well with thee._


End file.
